More than a month since the inquiry was complete and nearly two weeks since I sent a letter to the editor and blogged the news, the Jacksonville Daily News has reported on Onslow County Commissioner (and failed 2006 candidate for Clerk of Superior Court) Delma Collins‘ campaign finance FUBAR.

The article doesn’t cover any new ground except for having great quotes from Commissioner Collins.

An example from the article:

“I made a mistake,” Collins said. “But you have to be a bookkeeper to understand election finance laws.”

Mr. Collins, indeed, you do not need to be a bookkeeper to understand the election finance laws. You simply have to read the regulations, attend training by the local or state Boards of Election, and ask questions if you’re that confused. It’s clear that by reaching the threshold limit of $3,000 in June (months prior to Election Day) you either acted intentionally to avoid reporting your campaign finance or you are incapable of managing your campaign funds. Neither is acceptable.

When questioned about motives regarding the inquiry, Collins had an interesting answer:

“This is nothing more than old enemies taking potshots at me,” Collins said.

As a response to the statement, I made this comment on the online article:

It’s nice to see the Jacksonville Daily News doing some investigative reporting. Too bad it’s been almost a month and a half since the report was released and it’s been reported on the ENC Forums and other websites.

As for Mr. Collins’ comment, since the SBOE found several instances of violations of campaign finance regulations, it’s not “Enemies taking potshots.”

The article did have one new and intriguing iota of news:

Collins said if he runs for office again, he will file differently.

“I have learned a valuable lesson,” Collins said. “If I do decide to run for a higher office in the future, I will not file under the $3,000 threshold.”

Mr. Collins, you promised your family, your friends, and, most importantly, your constituency that, should you lose the race for Clerk of Superior Court, you would leave politics at the end of your term as County Commissioner.

Perhaps you’ve forgotten, so I will quote the letter your campaign sent to teachers in Onslow County Schools:

I have promised my family that I will leave the political arena if I am unsuccessful in this endeavor.

Keep that promise, Mr. Collins. For the good of your family, for the good of your friends, and for the good of your constituency, keep your promise. Leave politics.

Saturday I went photo-walking in the Old Burying Grounds in Beaufort and at Fort Macon (the links are to the photo-walking albums). Take a stroll with me, won’t you?

NaPhotoPoMo seems to really be getting legs. Erin blogged it and Ontario Emperor linked to her. There’s also 9 members of the group on Ning.

Just to be clear, though, participants don’t have to register for Ning and join the group to participate in NaPhotoPoMo. I would appreciate a link or email or something to be able to keep track of how many folks participate, but even that’s not really necessary.

Maybe if we all use a Technorati tag in NaPhotoPoMo posts it’d be easier to track. Any advice?

Interestingly enough, it’s been almost a full month and the Jacksonville Daily News hasn’t reported on Onslow County Commissioner Delma Collins’ NC State Board of Elections inquiry or fines.

I even sent them a letter to the editor to tip them off and nothing.

I guess the old adage is true: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”

Good night and good luck.

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I don’t often talk about my professional life, but here is today’s sad tale.

Since my office has moved into the new and improved Russell Marine and Family Service Center, I’ve had the small pleasure of walking to the door surrounded by a lush green lawn. The leaves of grass were easily 8-10 inches long and were a beautiful, bright green. It’s a rare sight in Eastern NC and even more rare in November.

But, thanks to contracted lawn maintenance people, that small boost to my morning has been ripped away.

See the evidence in the photo.

What was once a fresh, green, leafy lawn of wonderful grass is now a muddy swath of hay.

For shame, contracted lawn maintenance people, for shame for taking away one of my fewest and simplest pleasures, for shame.

I wonder how the southern folks that think Fred Thompson is the second coming of the Great Southern President will feel about this.

“I know that everybody who hangs the flag up in their room like that is not racist,” said Thompson, who has played up his southern roots while campaigning in South Carolina. “I also know that for a great many Americans it’s a symbol of racism.”

But Thompson added that, “as far as a public place is concerned, I am glad that people have made the decision not to display it as a prominent flag, symbolic of something, at a state capitol.”

Ol’ Freddie, then, agrees that the Confederate Flag (a symbol of, for all intents and purposes, a sovereign foreign nation) should not be flown on government grounds, unless, as he said:

“As a part of a group of flags or something of that nature, you know, honoring various service people at different times in different parts of the country, I think that’s different,”

And I mostly agree with him. But, that doesn’t bid well for his chances in South Carolina or Georgia.

I’m also curious how Thompson’s negative campaign ad, which aired during the debate, will affect things for him. It certainly is not a classy move.

Here’s another example of religion causing death.

A few hours after a Mount Vernon judge ruled that a 14-year-old Jehovah’s Witness sick with leukemia had the right to refuse a blood transfusion, even though that refusal might kill him, the boy died in a Seattle hospital.

It’s also an example of a child’s guardian letting faith in a false truth kill someone else’s child.

However, his birth parents, Lindberg Sr. and Rachel Wherry, who do not have custody and flew from Boise, Idaho, to be at the hearing, believed their son should have had the transfusion and suggested he had been unduly influenced by his legal guardian, his aunt Dianna Mincin, who is also a Jehovah’s Witness.

It’s a despicable shame and it’s an unforgivable sin.

In other, less tragic religious news, longtime 700 Club leader, Pat Robertson says yoga is from the devil. Or something. He likes stretching though…

Keep limber!

The Republican Party in Virginia is requiring voters who request the GOP ballot in next year’s General Election to swear an oath that they will vote for the Republican nominee for President.

I can honestly say that I’m not surprised that the Republican Party in VA did this, though, I am shocked that the State Board of Elections approved the measure.

And, yes, I’m aware that the Democratic Party attempted to do the same thing during 2004. Remember, though, that request was dropped prior to election day.

Will the Republicans drop their request for a loyalty oath?

Who wants to start a new internet phenomenon? In the Na __ __ Mo meme, I suggest National Photograph Posting Month. For the month of December February(? What’s good for you?), I will post a new and never-before-seen photo taken (wait for it) that very same day.

Who’s in?

Anyone? Anyone? Anyone?

Has anyone noticed something different about the iTunes podcast store? When perusing the podcast section by category, I end up in a very unsexy list-like interface. Completely not cool. There’s no extra information on the podcasts, just the basic information (title, artist, genre, etc.).

It’s making it quite complicated to shop for new and exciting podcasts, that’s for certain.

Somebody at the local nutjob message board has been sending offensive private messages to the female users.

Remember the controversy surrounding Onslow County Commissioner Delma Collins’ 2006 failed campaign for Clerk of Superior Court?

The North Carolina State Board of Elections has released its findings regarding Commissioner Collins. In a letter dated November 5th, the Board noted that Collins accepted business contributions (in-kind contributions from Donald Keith Branch of Allstate Insurance and Michael Lazzara (Yes, the City Councilman)), paid cash for advertisement purchases, and submitted campaign finance reports late. All of which are violations of campaign finance regulations.

The letter also suggets that Collins submitted information that could not be corroborated:

You stated that the Onslow County Board of Elections instructed you to file a final report after the elections in the event that you exceeded the threshold. You also stated that Ed Brown, candidate for sheriff, received the same instructions. Neither Mr. Brown nor the Onslow County Board of Elections corroborated your statements.

The letter also directs Collins to re-open his campaign committee, pay a fee of $1,288.72, file an amended report to include all receipts and expenses, and providing a sworn statement describing the source of funds used to purchase advertising from the Jacksonville Daily News.

They’re well-earned, but not excessive, punishments.

I wonder, though, if the letter was signed November 5th, when the Jacksonville Daily News is going to get around to reporting the news?

As I wrote in May, I write again in June.

Ms. Strange of the NC State Board of Elections said in an email dated June 18th:

There is no new information at this time regarding the Delma Collins complaint.

There’s no new information after more than 4 months of investigation.

When I asked about the length of investigations and the delay, Ms. Strange answered:

There is no average time length for an investigation—some are resolved very quickly, others take longer depending on the length of time it takes to receive and review records and conduct interviews. We currently have three compliance specialists working on 78 investigations in various stages of completion.

Perhaps the SBOE should invest in more investigators and educators to ensure that campaigns and candidates are more informed on the applicable laws.

Of course, if you rely on local news, you’d never know that the investigation was ongoing because the Jacksonville Daily News hasn’t reported on it since February.

Onslow County Commissioner Delma Collins has been the target of an NC State Board of Elections investigation regarding his inability to keep track of his campaign (for Onslow County Clerk of Superior Court) finances. The investigation has been open since February 2007, when a complaint was issued by local Jacksonvillian, Robert Lee, to the State Board.

Each month, Ms. Amy Strange, a Campaign Finance Compliance Specialist at the State Board, and I dance a strange (heh) dance indeed…I email her with an inquiry on the investigation and she answers that it’s “still in progress.”

Such has been the dance in March and April. Since it’s that time, I wonder if May will be any different?

Technorati tags: North Carolina State Board of Elections, Delma Collins, Robert E. Lee, Onslow County Board of Commissioners, Onslow County Clerk of Superior Court, Campaign Finance, Campaign Finance Investigations, Jacksonville Daily News

Yesterday I wrote about Onslow County Commissioner Delma Collins campaign financing faux pas.

Today’s Jacksonville Daily News has a new article on the Collins Campaign Contribution Debacle.

Based on the reports filed on Wednesday, Collins officially went over the $3,000 ceiling during the second quarter report period of his campaign (April 16-June 30).

There are two conclusions one can logically come to given this information:

• Commissioner Collins intentionally withheld the information on when he went beyond the $3,000 threshold in order to abstain from submitting the requisite paperwork.
• Commissioner Collins inadequately managed his campaign finances and was not aware that he was over the threshold until January 2007.

Collins has claimed that he believed he passed the threshold limit late in the campaign. Clearly, his paperwork disputes that claim. If he went over $3,000 in June and didn’t know, how then could he be nearly $5,000 over by November and not know that?

In all, Collins finished with $7,777.30 in contributions - $4,777.30 over the $3,000 threshold for his November race against eventual winner Democrat Bettie Gurganus.

Rose Whitehurst, Director of Onslow County Board of Elections claims that there was nothing unusual in Collins submitted reports.

“It looked fine,” Whitehurst said. “It was generic like the rest of them - pretty standard.”

Commissioner Collins claims that there’s a misunderstanding in the rules and that he believes (along with Whitehurst) that the reports needed to be submitted within ten days after his revelation to the County Board of Elections that he was over. That report was made last month and the appropriate reports were submitted within the ten days.

“The state people and the local people are having some difficulty in agreeing on exactly when the time limit was and when it should have been reported and some other issues building into these reports,” Collins said. “If they can’t agree, it puts the candidates in a real bad position. The book needs to be simplified. The book is poorly written. If I’m guilty of misinterpreting the timeline and something else, I apologize. I did the best that I could and I did what I was told and what I thought I was supposed to do.”

Collins’ attempt to blame everyone but himself for his accounting errors appear to be a last ditch stand to repair his reputation. Accusing the local people of not understanding the rules is a disgusting tactic to distract any paying attention. It’s apparent that if Collins went over the threshold in June, he should’ve known about it before the elections in November.

Commissioner Collins has a lot of explaining to do…How can he campaign for four months without knowing that he was over $3,000? Is his management system so inept that he was not maintaining the appropriate reports during his campaign?

What do you think about all of this? Was it a simple mistake or are there more sinister implications?

Questions or comments can be posted here or emailed to OnslowCountyPolitics@gmail.com.

For upcoming events, look at the Onslow County Politics calendar. If you use Google Calendar, you can add the events that you’re interested in participating in to your account.

Technorati tags: Delma Collins, North Carolina State Board of Elections, Amy Strange, Rose Whitehurst, Onlsow County Board of Elections

del.icio.us tags: Delma Collins, North Carolina State Board of Elections, Amy Strange, Rose Whitehurst, Onlsow County Board of Elections

It seems that Onslow County Commissioner Delma Collins can’t catch a break.

First he’s soundly beaten for Onslow County Clerk of Superior Court by Bettie Gurganus and now he’s under investigation by the North Carolina Board of Elections.

The Jacksonville Daily News reports.

The state Board of Elections started an investigation Tuesday into campaign finance filing by Onslow County Commissioner Delma Collins when he ran unsuccessfully last year for clerk of court.

It appears that Commissioner Collins exceeded the $3,000 ceiling for non-reported campaign expenses and then failed to notify the Board of Elections until January 17th, 2007. Rose Whitehurst, Director of the Onslow County Board of Elections, informed Collins that he had ten days to file the correct documentation. Amy Strange of the State Board of Elections has a different interpretation of the rules, though.

“It’s not when they notify the board of elections, it’s when they go over,” Strange said. “For example, if I go over July 1, I have 10 days to amend my threshold certification - and that’s 10 calendar days, not business days. If day 10 falls on a weekend day, they have the next business day. From there, they file amend for going over the threshold (with) the next finance report that is due.”

This is bad news for Commissioner Collins, though his political career will be over when his stint as County Commissioner ends. Nobody wants their political career marked with a big, dumb mistake.

Technorati tags: Delma Collins, North Carolina State Board of Elections, Amy Strange, Rose Whitehurst, Onlsow County Board of Elections

del.icio.us tags: Delma Collins, North Carolina State Board of Elections, Amy Strange, Rose Whitehurst, Onlsow County Board of Elections

The GOP’s weblog person, Katie MacGuidwin is missing.

It’s apparently due to the stress of an upcoming Democratic Majority and the results of the embarrassing November elections.

Perhaps Ms. MacGuidwin no longer works for the GOP. Perhaps she’s run off into the Wisconsin wilderness.

Their blog hasn’t been updated since before the elections. It’s really quite sad.

If you see Ms. MacGuidwin, let her know that I miss her always optimistic blog posts.

Media Bistro’s TVNewser has the rumors.

“Santorum has been negotiating a cable deal, which political insiders say most likely is with Fox — though MSNBC and CNN have been mentioned as well — ‘to be a screamer,’ as one political operative put it.”

Santorum as a screamer? Who knew. I always imagined he’d be more like the gritted-teeth-and-talking-mean type, but, what do I know?

Cleverly written, he’d be a better match-up against MSNBC’s hottie, Keith Olbermann, than Papa Bear and Culture Warrior, Bill O’Reilly.